Portable steam chest



June 11, 1963 1, wRlGHT 3,092,843

PORTABLE STEAM CHEST Filed NOV. 30, 1961 ,1? ,Zq INVENTOR. :1 fiymamp I.ha /aw '1 MIW YW United States Patent M 3,092,843 PORTABLE STEAM CHESTRaymond I. Wright, 25832 Springbrook, Farmington, Mich. Filed Nov. 30,1961, Ser. No. 156,048 2 Claims. (Cl. 4-164) My invention relatesgenerally to steam chests or cabinets, and more particularly to steamcabinets that are collapsible for easy storage when not in use.

The provision of such an improved steam chest being a principal objectof my invention, it is a further object of my invention to provide asteam chest that is characterized by its simplicity of construction.

It is a further object of my invention to provide a steam chest that maybe readily assembled and disassembled by a single person.

It is a further object of my invention to provide a steam chest wherein'humid air may be supplied to the interior of a chest continuously forseveral hours or for any shorter period of time that is desired.

It is a further object of my invention to provide a simplified portablesteam chets in which entry and egress may be accomplished without theassistance of a second person.

It is a further object of my invention to provide a steam chest thatincludes a simplified collapsible frame and a foldable covering for theframe that defines a chamber for the humid air.

It is a further object of my invention to provide a steam chest as setforth in the foregoing objects wherein a steam generator may be locatedexternally of the steam chamber.

It is a further object of my invention to provide a steam chest of thetype set forth in the foregoing objects wherein the steam chamber isisolated from any electrical voltage conductors to eliminate thepossibility of electrical shock.

Further objects and features of my invention will become apparent fromthe following description and the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 shows in isometric form a complete steam chest together with theexternally located steam generator;

FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1 showing the steam chest in a closedcondition;

FIG. 3 is a partial cross sectional view of the steam chest of FIGS. 1and 2 taken along section line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a view showing in isometric form the internal frame structureof the steam chest of FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view showing the construction of the joint locatedin the encircled portion of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged view showing the construction of the joint of thesecond encircled portion of FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a view of the frame of FIG. 4 when it assumes a collapsedposition; and

FIG. 8 is a view of the steam chest of FIGS. 1 and 2 in the completelycollapsed condition.

Referring first to FIG. 4, the frame is identified generally byreference character 10. It includes a lower frame member having sidemembers shown at 12, 14, 16 and 18 arranged in the form of a rectangle.Each of these members 12 through 18 is rigidly joined at itsintersections with the adjacent members. By preference, these memberscan be formed from a single piece of bar stock that is bent at threecorners and welded or otherwise secured together at the other corner.

Vertically positioned frame members are shown at 20, 22, 24 and 26.These members also are formed in the shape of a rectangle and, like thelower frame members, can be formed from a single piece of bar stock bentat each of three corners and secured together by welding or 3 ,092,843Patented June 11, 1963 ice other suitable means at the fourth cornerthereby forming an integral sub-assembly.

Frame members 12 and 16 include extensions 28 and 30. These can belooped around the frame member 26 to form a pivoted joint between themembers 12 and 16 with respect to member 26. A pair of frame sidememhers is shown at 32 and 34. Member 32 is bent and one end thereof islooped over member 22 as shown at 35. In a similar fashion, one end ofmember 34 is looped over member 18 as shown at 36. The joint betweenmember 34 and member 18 can be seen by referring to FIG. 6.

Another pair of side members is shown at 38 and 40. These members aresimilar in shape to the members 32 and-34, respectively. Members 34 and40 are joined together by member 42, and the plane of the members 42 and18 is perpendicular to the plane of members 12 and 16 when the frame isin a fully assembled upright position as viewed in FIG. 4.

The adjacent ends of the members 32 and 34 and the adjacent ends ofmembers 38 and 40 are hinged together. In FIG. 5 I have illustrated thehinged connection in particular detail. It includes a flat member 44that is connected to the end of member 38. Another member 46 is joinedto the end of member 40. Member 46 carries a pin or stud 48 that extendsthrough a cooperating opening in the adjacent member 44. The member 44can be pivoted about the axis of the stud 48.

A spring 50 is situated between member 44 and a spring seat carried bythe stud 48. This spring normally urges the members 46 and 44 intofrictional engagement. Thus the members 32 and 34 can be pivotedrelative to each other, although a slight degree of force is required todo this. The members will not pivot relative to each other when theframe is assembled unless the operator is in the process of folding theframe. An overcenter stop is provided as shown at 51 in the form of aprojection and a cooperating recess in the members 46 and 44,respectively.

Referring next to FIG. 7, the frame discussed with reference to FIG. 4is shown in a fully collapsed position. Note that the hinged connectionsbetween the members 32 and 34 and the members 38 and 40 allow thesemembers to fold one over the other. The looped connections between themembers 12 and 16 relative to member 26, between members 32 and 38relative to member 22 and between members 34 and 40 relative to member18 also accommodate the necessary relative motion. Each of the loopedhinged connections is similar to that shown in FIG. 6.

Referring next to FIGS. 1 and 2, a flexible covering is shown generallyat 52. This covering preferably is formed of plastic or other fabricsuch as canvas. The covering 52 is tailored to conform in shape to theshape of the frame illustrated in FIG. 4. The front surface 54 of thecovering 52 has a zipper opening to permit entry and egress. A chair 55to accommodate the operator can be placed within the enclosure that isdefined by the covering 52.

The top of the covering 52 has an opening 56 through which the head ofthe operator can project.

A zipper is shown at 58 in FIG. 1. The zipper can be opened and closedby the operator from the interior of the steam chamber.

In FIG. 2, the zipper is shown in the fully closed position with theoperator within the steam chamber.

A steam generator is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 at 60. It includes a pan forcontaining water and a heating element is located at the base of the panfor boiling the water. An electrical connection for energizing theheating element is shown at 62. The connection can be connected to anysuitable household electrical outlet.

In FIG. 3, there is shown a steam conduit 64 in the form of a closedchannel. It extends to the interior of the steam chamber through asuitable opening 66 formed in. one side of the covering '52. Theothertend of the channel64 is connected to a cover 68 for the steam gen-'avoid the possibility of electric shock.

In FIG. 8 I have shown my improved steam chest in a fully collapsedposition and folded for easy storage.

Having thus described a preferred embodiment of my invention, what Iclaim and desire to secure by US. Letters Patent is: t

1. A collapsible, portable steam chest comprising a frame, said framehaving base frame members rigidly connected in 'a horizontalplane,upright frame members rigidly connected in a vertical plane, a hingedconnection between adjacent members in each plane, a pair of bipartitefront frame members extending between the remote sides of said baseframe members and said upright frame members, hinge structure forjoining each part of said front frame members together in end-to-endrelationship,

said hinge structure including two friction parts, one friction partbeing carried by each front frame member,

'means for maintaining said frictional parts in frictional engagement,another frame member extending between said front frame members to holdthe latter in spaced relationship, the extremities'of each front framemember being hinged to said base frame member and said 2. A collapsible,portable steam chest comprising a frame, said frame having base framemembers rigidly connected in a horizontal plane, upright frame membersrigidly connected in a vertical plane, a hinged connection betweenadjacent members in each plane, a pair of bipartite front frame membersextending between the remote sides of said base frame members and saidupright frame members, hinge structure for joining each part of saidfront frame members together in end-to-end relationship, said hingestructure including two friction parts, one friction part being carriedby each front frame member of the associated pair of frame members,means for maintaining said friction parts in frictional engagement, andover center detent means for resisting relative movement of the frontframe members of each pair when they are aligned, another frame memberextending between said from frame members to hold the latter in spacedrelationship, the extremities of each front frame member being hinged tosaid base frame member and said upright frame members, a flexiblecovering tailored to the shape of the frame and enclosing said frame,said covering having a closable access opening, said covering having asteam port, a steam generator located on the exterior of said covering,said generator including a water reservoir and an electrical heatingelement, and a steam conduit extending from said generator through saidport into the interior of said covering.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTSElliott et a1. Oct. 9, 1900

1. A COLLAPSIBLE, PORTABLE STEAM CHEST COMPRISING A FRAME, SAID FRAMEHAVING BASE FRAME MEMBERS RIGIDLY CONNECTED IN A HORIZONTAL PLANE,UPRIGHT FRAME MEMBERS RIGIDLY CONNECTED IN A VERTICAL PLANE, A HINGEDCONNECTION BETWEEN ADJACENT MEMBERS IN EACH PLANE, A PAIR OF BIPARTITEFRONT FRAME MEMBERS EXTENDING BETWEEN THE REMOTE SIDES OF SAID BASEFRAME MEMBERS AND SAID UPRIGHT FRAME MEMBERS, HINGE STRUCTURE FORJOINING EACH PART OF SAID FRONT FRAME MEMBERS TOGETHER IN END-TO-ENDRELATIONSHIP, SAID HINGE STRUCTURE INCLUDING TWO FRICTION PARTS, ONEFRICTION PART BEING CARRIED BY EACH FRONT FRAME MEMBER, MEANS FORMAINTAINING SAID FRICTIONAL PARTS IN FRICTIONAL ENGAGEMENT, ANOTHERFRAME MEMBER EXTENDING BETWEEN SAID FRONT FRAME MEMBERS TO HOLD THELATTER IN SPACED RELATIONSHIP, THE EXTREMITIES OF EACH FRONT FRAMEMEMBER BEING HINGED TO SAID BASE FRAME MEMBER AND SAID UPRIGHT FRAMEMEMBERS, AND A FLEXIBLE COVERING TAILORED TO THE SHAPE OF THE FRAME ANDENCLOSING SAID FRAME, SAID COVERING HAVING A CLOSABLE ACCESS OPENING.